


An Unlikely Bond

by Anart617



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bendy is a pain in the booty, Demons, Distrust, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ink, Lots of it, Platonic Relationships, Size Difference, annoying the reader, constantly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-07 22:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17374829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anart617/pseuds/Anart617
Summary: You're just a normal girl, like everyone else trying to survive the big city. One day an ink demon appears in the street on the way home, causing a ruckus. Later, you meet the ink demon again, but he's not out for blood; rather, a home. Distrustful, but without any options, you let him into your home...and from there our fun begins.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So...I wasn't planning on making a BATIM fanfiction, yet here we are. The idea just popped in my head and I started typing. At first I wasn't even planning on publishing this, I was just writing it for myself, but then I started thinking, Hey this is pretty good, why not publish it?
> 
> I know it's a little late to jump on the bandwagon, but I've been a fan of this game for a long time, and I would only publish a fanfic if I thought it were anyways decent. So I hope you guys like it, too! Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet a demon. What could possibly go wrong?

Another day, another dollar. I accepted my meager pay and sighed down at the bills in my hand. It was barely enough to make it to the end of the week, but it would have to do. I stuffed the bills in my pocket and left the bookstore, stuffing my nametag away in a back pocket and clutching onto my purse. Crime can happen anywhere, but this corner of the city was a lot tougher than most. Figured I had to live here.

Already I could sense the vagrants watching me from their street corners, chuckling and whispering amongst themselves about getting a taste of that sweet ass. I was far from attractive: short, with too-large boobs and a face that should belong to a fourteen-year-old girl. But they'd take any solo gal on the street to get high on their pleasures.

My grip tightened and I walked faster. My other hand slipped to my belt and wrapped around a hidden pocket knife. I had never had to use it, and I prayed I never would, but I knew it was only a matter of time before one of those rats laid their stinking paws on me.

My apartment was only a few blocks away, but the trek seemed to take much longer because of my fear, and because it was overcast, turning the mid-afternoon into night with dark clouds that rumbled with the threat of rain.

 _Rain after I get inside,_ I pleaded as I took another turn.

There weren't many people about due to the foul weather. Those who were outside walked quickly; few were on their phones, as no one who lived in these parts was stupid enough to get distracted and make themselves easy targets.

 _Only one more turn,_ I thought, eyeing the next street sign. My heart pounded with relief, but anything could still happen between now and the relative shelter behind my front door.

And sure enough, something did.

A loud crackle filled the air. I assumed it was lightning, and cursed my luck before beginning to sprint, thinking that the rain was only seconds from pouring down.

But it wasn't lightning, and I figured that out a moment later. A huge flash lit up the street, temporarily blinding me. Cries of surprise and fear rang into the air all around me. I skidded to a stop and nailed my face into a lamppost. I wrapped my arms around it to keep from falling and squeezed my eyes shut against the light, waiting for it to fade away.

Slowly but surely, it did. I opened my eyes and looked around. The street and buildings looked unharmed; it had been no bolt of  lightning from the sky, to slam into the earth and cause an inferno of destruction. But then what had been that light?

People were gawking and pointing at something in the street. They were gathered around it, but kept their distance. Most of the onlookers' faces were etched with fear, and a few held their hands in a religious stance, some crossing over their hearts, some with their hands clasped and their eyes pointed skyward.

_What's got them all so riled up?_

Curiosity overcame caution. I unwrapped myself from the post and walked over to the crowd. I stopped at the back of it and raised myself onto my toes. It was still hard to see over the elbows and shoulders of those in front of me, but I managed to get glimpses of what they were looking at...and my heart nearly stopped.

It was some sort of creature, the likes of which I'd never seen before. It seemed to be melting...no, it was dripping with ink, yet it somehow managed to retain its form. It was tall--only crouching, yet it towered over the spectators. It looked around, growling at them, its fangs bared in a sneer. Its horns waggled as its head moved, and as I looked at them, I suddenly understood the religious reactions.

This was a demon, but an odd one at that. For one, it was made of ink. It also wore gloves and boots that reminded me of one of those Disney shorts--especially the gloves. They seemed...cartoony, somehow. The demon's tail licked the air as it surveyed the crowd, as though silently daring anyone to venture nearer. But no one was that stupid: it wad obviously strong, going by the crater it had made when landing in the street, and no doubt those large hands could snap a human in two as easily as a twig.

I wanted to go home so badly; my knees were knocking together, shaking with the rest of me. But I was afraid that if I moved, I would attract its attention. Even though its eyes were covered with dripping ink, leaving only the lower half of its face exposed (it had no nose), it could still see, somehow.

The demon let out a loud snarl, and everyone, including me, scrambled back several paces. The demon suddenly stood, exposing its full height, which had to be in the twenty to twenty-five foot range. Several people screamed, and the crowd dispersed, quickly fleeing the site.

I was jostled and shoved to the ground as people pushed past me for shelter. I groaned and stood up.  _Assholes._

I turned to run with the rest of them, but I paused when I realized the demon wasn't giving chase. It was just standing there, watching everyone run away. I frowned. Surely that wasn't typical monster behavior?

Then it was looking at me.

I yelped and abandoned all curiosity for fear. What was I thinking? It had probably just been orienting itself to its new surroundings. If I stood around any longer it was going to kill me!

I turned to run again. But as luck would have it, I ended up tripping over my own foot and labeing face down on the pavement.

 _I can't believe I just did that,_ I thought as I quickly pushed myself up, ignoring the red tainting my cheeks.

Suddenly I heard laughter from behind me. I turned around and saw it was the demon. My face heated up even further. For some reason, that only made it laugh even harder.

I stood up and glared at it, and almost said something rash. But I caught myself in time, remembering what I was dealing with: a demon, not some common thief or drunk.

I decided to run while it was distracted, but not believing I was going to make it. In any second, one of those hands would be wrapped around my waist and it would snap me in half, or devour my soul. I was dead.

Except I wasn't. The demon never gave chase.

I wasn't about to look over my shoulder and check, though. I ran full tilt to my apartment building, and thoroughly locked my door before peeking out the window, expecting a rampage, more screams, maybe even another flash of light.

But nothing happened.

Later, when I was watching the nightly news, I learned that the demon had disappeared from the area minutes after I had left, and had not been sighted since--seemingly vanishing without a trace.

* * *

The demon was all the talk for the next four days. When I was at work, when I was shopping, on the news. No one had ever seen or heard of the likes of this happening before. The government said it had no affiliation with the bizarre incident, but of course they would say that. People were in a state of panic. What if it returned? What if more of them came? It wasn't just our city that was worried, but everyone around the entire globe. It was among popular belief that these creatures (if there was more than one of them) could teleport wherever they wished, which explained the flash of light.

Priests were saying that the end of times was here. More people seemed inclined to believe them, though there were always the doubters.

As for me, I didn't know what to believe. I was there when the demon appeared. It had laughed at me when I tripped. But it hadn't chased after me, or anyone else, and it had simply gone away without harming anyone. Was this truly the end of the world?

I frowned. There were a lot of pieces to this story missing.

But why should I worry about it? I told myself as I tied up my kitchen trash bag. It wasn't my problem. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, there was nothing more to it. Besides, I had other things to worry about, like work and paying bills. If the world ended, then it would end. Nothing I could do about it.

I shouldered the trash and went outside. One thing I hated about the apartment building I lived in was the policy that all renters must take their own trash out back to the dumpster. And because of my work schedule, most days I could only take it out at night, and no one wants to be out at night all alone in the city.

But it was my only choice, and I'd done it loads of times before, so I wasn't too worried. I hauled my load down three flights of stairs, took a minute break at the bottom to complain about the weight, and then heaved it back up and went around to the back.

With a grunt, I threw it into the dumpster. I wiped the sweat from my brow before slamming the lid down.

"I can't wait to get out of this city," I muttered.

I turned around to go inside. A snort came from behind me. I spun around, eyes widen heart pounding. I didn't see anyone, so they had to be hiding somewhere in the shadows.

"Who's there?" I demanded, barely hiding the tremble from my voice.

There was no response, not like I expected one. Still, I wasn't about to turn my back and leave myself and easy target if anyone wanted to try something. My hand went to my pocket knife while the other balled into a fist. I glared into the shadows of the neighboring buildings.

"Who's there?" I said again.

The response startled me. "Well if I told you, you'd run off again, and that won't be much fun."

I spun in the direction of the voice, which came from an alleyway right across from where I stood, just beyond the fence that marked the end of the apartment building's property.

I glared, and said in as brave a voice as I could muster, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I want a place to shelter, some food, and above all, a companion. One who won't run away from my face."

The speaker was male. His Brooklyn accent meant he didn't come far from here, yet something about him seemed off. I couldn't tell what, exactly.

"Buddy," I sneered into the darkness, "I don't know who you think you are, but if you think I'm foolish enough to let a stranger spend the night in my apartment, you've got another thing coming."

He chuckled. "Please, darling. Your threats are absolutely adorable; you're killing me over here."

My eye twitched. Adorable? Adorable?! Oh, I'd show him who was adorable, all right.

"Come out and say that to my face!" I challenged.

"Promise me you won't run." His voice was suddenly low and deadly serious.

It sent a chill down my spine, but I didn't let my fear show. "Whatever. You're the one who'll be running if you try anything, punk."

There was a pause, then he said, "If you insist."

And the demon slithered out from the darkness.

All my bravado disappeared. Every cell in my body went cold. My hand fell from my pocket knife and dangled loosely at my side.

_No way. I just mouthed off to a freaking demon. I am so dead._

Every instinct was screaming at me to run. The demon must have sensed this, for he said, "You promised not to run from me."

But technically I hadn't. I hadn't said the exact words. And if this thing thought I was going to stick around...

I decided to stop thinking and start running.

"Hey!" he yelled, startled. "Come back here!"

I heard him step over the fence, but I didn't dare look. In every horror movie that only jinxed the victim, and I wasn't about to die that night.

I darted around the corner and was suddenly torn. I couldn't go inside, that would show him exactly where I lived. But the streets were even more dangerous, littered with dangerous character all around. But then again, I wad being chased by an even more dangerous character, and so I decided to take a chance.

I darted into the street, across the road and between two buildings. I heard him pursue me but ignored that, instead pouring all my attention and power on running as fast as I could. I wasn't a very athletic person, but if there was one thing I prided myself upon, it was my running.

I figured I could lose him amongst the many streets and buildings. To the untrained eye they all looked the same, a maze of steel and concrete. Having lived there long enough I could navigate this place easily, and so losing him should be a cinch.

But what if he found my apartment again? I gritted my teeth. Why oh why did he choose to come after me of all people?

Luckily, I didn't have to stress about this for much longer because my plan began to fell apart. I should have known better about trying to outrun him. It was no contest between a twenty-something foot demon and a mere five foot human.

I could hear his growls getting louder, his heavy footfalls and the occasional crash when he slammed into a building or knocked something over.

Suddenly, he was upon me.

One of his large gloved hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. Panic surged through me. I pushed against the hand, struggling to free myself with all my might. He pushed me against his chest, pinning me there. I grimaced at the cold, wet feel of his skin. What made it especially eerie was that it was not quite solid, which made sense, due to what he was made of.

"What did I warn you about running?" he seethed.

I gulped. So much for that. "I-I'll scream," I warned him. I knew it was a stupid attempt before he even replied.

"Oh yeah? And who will come to rescue you? They would just run off...just like you did."

I gritted my teeth. He was angry at me for taking off? He didn't have the right to be mad, and who cared that he was a big and mighty demon?

In a brief and probably stupid moment of spite, I forgot to be angry and spat at him, "Buddy, you don't have any right to be mad at me. You're the one who instigated this by stalking me home and then kidnapping me!"

Instead of retaliating, as I expected, he looked shocked. "Stalking...? No, I haven't been stalking you. And I'm not trying to kidnap you, either." He sounded genuine, but I didn't buy it. I craned my head up to look at him and meet the ink where his eyes should have been.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you bothering me of all people?"

"Because I recognized you from the other day," he said. "I've been exploring this city, and I can't say it's the nicest place I've ever been."

"Yeah, it must be a real drag next to Hell," I muttered.

He frowned. "I've never been to Hell."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

He sighed. "Look, I'm not your stereotypical demon, okay? I really do just want a place to stay, along with the company. I don't ever want to be alone again."

I studied the demon. His expression and his words seemed to ring with truth, but how could I trust him? It was hard to trust other humans, especially here. Anywhere, really, even in the places where the grass was green and the stars weren't always hidden behind smog.

But I supposed it didn't really matter whether or not I trusted the demon. He could kill me otherwise, or really kidnap me (if he wasn't lying about that), or force me to along with what he wanted. Besides, he was literally hugging me to his chest right now, so I couldn't escape. Trepidation flooded through me as I realized I would have to play along with him, for now.

"All right," I said reluctantly. "You can stay."

He looked shocked. "Wait, really?"

"Yes," I sighed. Then added, in a firmer tone to both appear and feel more in control of my situation, "But on one condition."

"Alright?" he asked, cocking his head to one side. The subtle movement reminded me, for some reason, of a curious child, especially the way his horns waggled to the side, too.

I shook the ridiculous analogy from my head and answered him. "You will put me down now, and you won't ever do that again."

I immediately berated myself. What was I thinking?! He wasn't going to listen to me....My thoughts trailed off as he did exactly what I asked. "Okay," he said, carefully setting me on the ground. I resisted the urge to back away from him when his hand fell away.

"All right," I said, more to calm myself down than anything else. So I was going to have a giant ink demon living with me. That was fine. No big deal. Absolutely no reason to be panicking right now.

 _Stop it!_ I told myself. It took me a minute to calm down--not entirely, not even close, but enough to assess the situation at hand. A huge problem struck me.

"Um." I looked up at him, fully taking in our immense size difference. "So you want to stay with me, huh?"

"Yes!" he said eagerly, than added, "Please," almost as an afterthought. I raised my eyebrows at this, but didn't know what to make of it and so left it alone.

"Well," I asked him, "how do you plan on fitting inside?"

I thought I had him stumped, but to my surprise he grinned. "Oh, that's easy! I've got a little trick up my sleeve." He laughed as though sharing a personal joke.

Before I could try to understand it, or even think up a reply, the demon suddenly collapsed into himself, becoming a formless blob of ink. I instantly stepped back, wondering if this had all been a trick, and cursed myself for letting my guard down, even a little.

But he wasn't after me. Instead, the ink that made up his body, his literal life essence, was focusing on forming into a body that was much smaller than his previous form. I suddenly understood the joke, though I wondered how he could fit all that ink into such a tiny body. When he finished he grinned up at me, eyes twinkling.

"What do ya think, toots?" he asked me.

The oddly shaped gloves and boots made a lot more sense now, because all of him looked like he could have stepped right out of a 1920s cartoon. Black and white, his pie cut eyes glistened excitedly over a broad grin that took up most of his face. He was no longer runny with ink, and his tail was gone. His bowtie, which before had been lopsided from the ink dampening it, was now straight and stain-free. He also had no neck; his head floated above his shoulders, and I tried not to stare at the empty space between. To top it all off, he now achieved a whopper height of roughly three feet, reaching just a little past my waist.

It took me a few seconds to find my voice.

"I think it's a good time for me to faint."

The demon's easygoing and rather smug expression suddenly morphed into a panicked one.

"Oh, please don't do that, miss! I won't be able to carry you all the way back in this form!"

For some reason, that struck my funny chord and I began to laugh.

His widow's peak furrowed in confusion. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing, just the stress of the evening," I said, quickly composing myself by reminding myself what I was dealing with. He might have looked like a cute, innocent cartoon, but I could never forget that tall, misfigured form. If he thought I was going to let my guard down now, he was dead wrong.

"All right then," he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Let's go!"

"Shouldn't you wear something to, uh, cover up?" I asked him. "In case someone sees you."

"No one saw me when I was chasing you," he pointed out. Or heard him, I realized. I couldn't fathom how, but I told myself to be grateful that no one had noticed and had posted the event on social media. The last thing I needed was to be associated with this whole fiasco...which, unfortunately, I now was.

"Fine," I said. "But still, let's be quiet." We both stood there for an awkward moment before I added, gesturing ahead, "You can go ahead of me if you want."

"But I don't know where I'm going," he said. "You'll have to show me the way." His look showed me he knew what I really wanted: to keep my eye on him at all times. Seemed he was pretty clever, then.

"Fair point," I said, playing along. I walked ahead, but I checked back often to make sure he wasn't up to something. He kept his gaze locked on me, and I stifled a shudder. He didn't seem too interested in the city, I noted, then recalled what he said earlier. I frowned. If he wasn't from Hell, then what kind of demon was he?

It took a bit longer to get back home considering I was walking rather than running for my life. Still, I walked quickly, and to my slight surprise, the demon managed to keep up fairly well in spite of his short legs.

"I live up on the second to top floor," I told him when we reached the building. The inside was as dingy as the outside. The clerk was snoring loudly with his head on the desk; his computer was playing a football game. Chip crumbs littered the desk and the clerk's beard.

The demon stared with fascination at the computer before I had to haul him away.

When we reached the staircase, he said, "Man, it must be a pain to take the trash down."

I glared at him as his words echoed off the walls.

"What?" he asked, totally oblivious. "I was just saying!"

"Do you want to get caught?" I hissed at him. "Keep talking like that and the whole complex will hear."

The demon frowned, but he nevertheless lowered his voice. "Yeah, well then I'd have to leave, and I'm sure you'd love that," he muttered.

I glared at him. "But people will think we're affiliated somehow, that I had something to do with bringing you here, and I don't want that sort of trouble on my plate, so keep quiet."

The demon looked briefly abashed, but he quickly made his face neutral and nodded assent.  _Only because he's interested in saving his own skin, not mine,_ I thought as I turned around and continued walking.

We arrived at my door not two minutes later. I produced a set of keys from my pocket, one of which I fitted into the lock. I pushed on the door and turned the light on by the entrance, which bathed the interior in a faint orange glow.

"Nice digs," the demon complimented, looking around. I couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or not, because my home was anything but "nice digs".

It was modest but small, with a tiny living room connected to the kitchen and dining room, which was barely a corner to itself, so I usually dined at the couch, as there was a little more room. Beyond the living room was a door that led to the bedroom, next to which was the bathroom. There was no laundry machine, so I had to go to the apartment-owned laundromat on the bottom floor and pay extra just to wash my clothes every other day. Did I mention how much I hated the city?

"You can sleep on the..." But he was already running to it. He leapt in a clean high arc that only a cartoon character could achieve, and landed on his target with his legs in the air.

"...couch," I finished.

"Thanks, toots," he said, patting the cushions. "It's nice and roomy. And look at the size of these pillows!" He raised one up and pointed at it for me to look.

I stared at him, utterly dumfounded. Just what the heck kind of demon was he? He was made of ink, childlike in behavior, and looked and acted like an old cartoon character. Where were the threats, the soul contracts, the evil maniacal laughs?

 _Maybe I've been watching too much TV,_ I considered.

"What?"

I jumped, then realized I had been staring at the demon for a long time. He was looking at me oddly.

"I spaced out there. Sorry," I said, wondering why I was apologizing. This all had to be a trick. It had to!

"Oh yeah!" he said, snapping his fingers loudly and thus startling me yet again. "I haven't gotten your name yet, or introduced myself for that matter. Golly, where are my manners?" He giggled to himself.

He turned to me, knees on the cushions, his stomach pressed to the back of the seat with one arm resting on top of it while the other was stretched out, its hand ready to shake.

"The name's Bendy, toots. Bendy the Dancing Demon."

I didn't shake his hand. "I'm (Y/N)," I said, "and please don't call me that."

"Call you what?" he asked.

"Toots. It's annoying, and frankly demeaning."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend ya." He kept his hand outstretched hopefully for a few more seconds before realizing I wasn't going to shake. His arm fell and he pouted. "That was pretty rude yourself, you know. It's customary to shake hands when you greet yourself."

"Not always," I replied evenly, "especially when your guest is a demon who's probably going to eat you in your sleep."

"Hey!" Bendy protested, looking positively affronted.

I shrugged. "I said 'probably'. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep. Try any funny business and you're outta here, got it?"

Bendy's face twitched oddly for a moment, and I wondered if I had gone too far. Sure, I wanted to establish a sense of control, but not at the expense of my life. What the hell was wrong with me?

But the moment passed, and Bendy's easygoing grin reappeared. "No problem, too--I mean, (Y/N). I'll be quieter than a mouse."

I gave him a very long look before venturing to my bedroom. I opened the door and was about to close it, when I realized I hadn't offered him a blanket. I didn't want to further risk angering him, so I went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel off the shelf (I only had the one blanket). It was more than big enough to cover his tiny body.

I returned to the living room and held it out to him, being sure to keep my distance. "Here."

"Gee, thanks," he said, taking the towel and wrapping it around himself. "Seems you're not as cold-hearted as you like to appear."

I sputtered, unable to think or form a response to the jibe. I finally turned on my heel and hid in my bedroom. I couldn't stand another second in the same room as him. Both because I was terrified and he was being unbearable; whether on purpose or not, I couldn't tell.

I didn't even care that the light out there was still on. If the electric bill was a little higher this month, then I would deal with it. I wasn't going back out there for as long as I could get away with it...that was, until tomorrow morning.

I groaned into my arms.  _You'll get through this,_ I told myself without really believing it.

I'd locked the door without any real hopes of keeping him out; he could probably just turn into a puddle of ink and slip through the crack underneath. I flopped to the floor and leaned against the foot of my bed and stared at the door.

I so badly wanted to sleep, but I didn't want this Bendy to take advantage of me while unconscious. I wasn't about to be caught off-guard.

And so, I took out my pocket knife and vowed to stave off all sleep, no matter how tired I was, and protect myself in case he decided to try something.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend some time with Bendy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I honestly meant for this to be finished sooner, but I was having a bit of writer's block, and then I had to rewrite a part of the chapter in order for it to fit better with what I had in mind. But enough of that. Hope you guys enjoy this latest installment! Hopefully it won't take me as long to write and post the next chapter. Chao!

True to my word, I fell asleep less than ten minutes later.

I cursed myself and scrambled up from the floor, where I had been curled up in the fetal position, right hand loosely curled around my pocket knife. I looked around my bedroom but saw no signs of disturbance. Everything was quiet. Dawn light filtered in through the blinds.

 _I slept so long?_ It suddenly hit me that I'd forgotten to set my alarm; I was due to begin work in less than an hour.

"Dammit!" I muttered, frowning. I couldn't afford to skip work, but at the same time, I wasn't about to let that demon Bendy—Bendy, what kind of stupid name was that, anyway?—stay here on his own, either.

Speaking of...just what was that little devil up to? I was surprised he hadn't tried to murder me in the middle of the night, and it was dead silent on the other side of the door—which only gave me cause for further suspicion. I stood up, quietly crept to the door, knife at the ready, and grabbed the knob. I stood there for a full minute, frozen in fear of what I might find.

 _Come on, he's not_ that  _scary,_ I told myself. But that was a lie.

What spurred me into action was the twinkling of china. I flung open the door, heart pounding with anticipation, ready to swing and stab and scream bloody murder.

All I found was Bendy standing by the shattered remains of a plate, looking guilty as he glanced up at me.

"Oops," he grimaced.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Slowly and reluctantly, I tucked my knife away into my belt.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, not quite successful in keeping my voice steady. A quiver of fear rang out, and I internally cringed for it.

Bendy slightly hunched in on himself; his fingers fidgeted with each other as he spoke. "Well, I just thought I'd cook us both breakfast, as a thank you for lettin’ me stay with you."

I stared at him. Really? This was what he was up to? I didn't believe him for a second. He was a demon; it was in his nature to be mischievous. He probably dropped the plate on purpose in order to wake me up, or otherwise give me a heart attack. Or maybe he was planning on poisoning the meal. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the light had been turned off sometime overnight, but I dismissed the observation.

"Well," I told him, determined to keep my gaze level, "I appreciate the gesture—" _(not really)_ "—but I think I can handle making breakfast."

"Oh, okay," Bendy said, looking disappointedly at the floor.

I frowned. If he was trying to make me feel guilty, it wasn’t working. All right, maybe a little, against my will of course. But I wasn’t falling for it.

“Just…stand back,” I told him with authority, but without sounding too bossy; I was still afraid of angering him, as he might not like being told what to do. “I’ve gotta clean this up now.”

I expected him to protest, or maybe roll his eyes and give some attitude, but instead he simply backed up as I requested. I stared at him for a moment, and he stared back, unblinking. I quickly looked away and went to get the dustpan and broom, feeling his eyes on me the whole time.

When I returned to the site of the mess, he was still staring at me. “Could you please stop?” I said finally, feeling rather creeped out.

“Why? Does this bother you?” A hint of his mischievous nature shone out as the corner of his mouth quirked into a smirk.

“Yes, it does,” I said.

“Okay, then.” He continued to stare at me.

I groaned and looked away. I swept up the broken pieces of glass and tried to ignore his stare, but it was pressing to my side like a physical force. It took all my effort not to squirm.

Finished, I stood up and went to the trash can.

“Lovely memories,” Bendy sighed. I glared at the trash can as though this was its fault for filling up too quickly; then I wouldn’t have met him last night, and my life would be continuing just as normal. I wouldn’t constantly be worried about what he might do to wreak havoc, or someone else finding out that I was harboring a demon. Then again, it wasn’t like I had much of a choice in the matter.

After putting the dustpan and broom away, I spun around to face him. Suddenly I was at a loss for what to do. I should probably offer to make him breakfast; we were roommates now, after all—as much as I hated it, I would have to get used to it. But what did demons eat? Probably meat. But he was made of ink, which was definitely unusual. I shook my head to clear it.

"All right," I said slowly. "How about you pick what we eat?"

Bendy's head shot up. Literal stars shone in his eyes. "Really?" he asked.

"Uh, really," I said, put off by his sudden enthusiasm. "You can check the cabinets and fridge. There's not much, but there should be something you like." (What did ink demons eat? Could he eat? If so, how, being made of ink?) "Don't touch anything," I warned him, "just look."

Bendy nodded and went to the fridge. I watched him as he opened the door and looked inside, his pie cut eyes roving over the contents with fascination. After a few moments he closed the door and reached for the freezer's handle, but he couldn't quite reach; his arms were a few feet too short.

I sighed and stepped forward. "Here, let me..." I trailed off as he suddenly grew in height, stopping when he was about seven feet tall. His ink was beginning to run into his eyes; he wiped it away to see inside the freezer better. Other than that, though, he looked the same. Still, it took all my willpower to not run from the room.

"Pancakes look good," he said and turned to me. "Can we have pancakes?"

"Sure," I said, feigning nonchalance and hoping I wasn't failing. "Would you like syrup on them?"

His eyes widened. "Yes please," he said, nodding his head.

"Okay, then. Let me just wash my hands. Then I'll get started on the pancakes."

I went to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet, using the excuse of looking down so I would no longer have to hold his gaze. I heard Bendy shift back into his shorter form and his footsteps as he approached me.

"I'm sorry if my other form scares you."

"Huh?" My head shot up and I looked at him, standing not five feet away. He was looking at me seriously, with a bit of sadness.

"I don't like it, either," he told me before heading into the living room.

I watched him flop down onto the couch and stared at him for several moments thereafter. My thoughts were all awhirl, I couldn't decide which to focus on. Was this all an act? Had I been too hasty? No, he had to be tricking me. But what if he wasn't? What if I was just so used to being distrustful that I saw an enemy in everyone I saw? But he's a  _demon._

  _That sadness wasn't feigned._ I couldn't pinpoint how, but I knew that for a fact. I sighed and refocused my attention on cleaning my hands. Just focusing on little, insignificant things like that would keep me from going crazy, as my sanity had started to crumble before my eyes last night, when I first met the ink demon. Heck, even before then. Life is fun that way.

After drying my hands, I got two plates from a cupboard and retrieved the pancakes. "So...how many do you want?" I asked.

Bendy peeked over the couch at me. "I can choose?"

I frowned. He said it as though he'd never had a choice in anything before. Or maybe I was just reading too much into it.

"Yeah," I said. "Don't take all of them though, I have to eat, too."

Bendy scrunched up his face in thought. After five seconds he said, "Seven please!"

 _Seven, huh? That's quite a bit._ Then again, he was a demon and not a human, and so he could probably consume a lot more. Personally, I could handle maybe four pancakes for one morning, plus a banana.

I laid out seven pancakes on one plate, four on the other, and put his plate in the microwave. Bendy got off the couch and entered the kitchen to watch as the food rotated while it heated up. "Never seen a microwave before?" I asked him, reaching for the cups.

"I haven't seen much of anythin’," he replied without taking his eyes away. "I have heard about these things before, though. I thought they'd be bigger."

"Well, that's what ovens are for," I told him, rapping the device with my knuckles. "You can cook bigger meals in there, usually for a longer time."

"Wow," said Bendy, staring awestruck at the significantly bigger cooking appliance.

I stared at him for a moment. So many questions were burning on my tongue, like where he was from, how he had appeared on the street the other day, why he was made of ink. But I kept them all quiet; even though he was now my roommate, it wasn’t my business to pry into his life.

When the pancakes finished, a beep sounded, causing Bendy to jump. He stared at the microwave with a surprised expression. Against my will, a snort escaped me. “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, quickly regaining my composure. _What the heck is wrong with you?_ I asked myself.

But Bendy didn’t get angry. Not really, anyway. He just frowned and said, “I wasn’t scared by the noise it made. The microwave.”

Again, a grin tugged at my lips, but I forced it down. I opened the microwave and pulled out the pancakes. I heated mine up, then took both the plates to the living room. I ate there for all my meals, seeing as there wasn’t enough room for a living room table; and even if there were, I wouldn’t need one for just one person.

I went back to the kitchen to grab a knife and fork for each of us, plus the syrup. “What would you like to drink?” I asked him.

“Coffee!” Bendy exclaimed immediately.

That immediately came to me as a bad idea. He was hyper enough already, it seemed. Then again, I didn’t want to anger him, and I needed a cup of coffee myself. And so I poured some into the coffee maker and turned it on. “It’ll take a few minutes, but it will go off to let us know. Like the microwave.”

“All right, don’t imply what I know you’re implyin’,” Bendy said as I sat down.

“I don’t know what you mean by that,” I said honestly.

“You’re still makin’ fun of me for jumpin’ earlier. I told ya, I wasn’t scared, I was just surprised. I didn’t know microwaves made that sound.”

“I’m not making fun of you, I swear,” I told him hastily. He frowned at me as though he didn’t believe me.

“Uh-huh,” he said, before turning to his meal. He grabbed the syrup bottle, flicked open the cap, and upended the bottle. Thick, syrupy goodness oozed out of the container and plopped onto the stacked pancakes.

“Uh, are you sure that isn’t a bit much?” I asked him.

“There’s never such a thing as too much syrup!” he told me with a grin, putting down the bottle. He grabbed the utensils and dug in. I watched in fascination as he inhaled the pancakes at supersonic speed, and stared when the plate was emptied not twenty seconds after he’d poured the syrup.

“Ah, that hits the spot.” He leaned back and patted his slightly bloated stomach contently. I blinked.

_Ooh-kay then. Probably should have expected that._

I shook myself from my stupor and turned to my own pancakes. _I forgot the butter,_ I realized, but shrugged and poured some syrup onto my meal.

When the coffee was done being made, I handed Bendy a cup, treating it as though handling burning coals. “Thanks, toots,” he grinned.

“Don’t call me that, please,” I reminded him.

“Oh, right, sorry,” he said, not really sounding sorry at all. He blew on his coffee before taking a sip. “Mm!” He gulped the rest of it down. I cringed, and hoped I wouldn’t be regretting my decision not to put my foot down about the coffee in a few minutes when the caffeine kicked in.

I took a tentative sip of my own cup o’ joe and set the mug down.

“Y’know, you’re not like most other humans.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? How so?”

“Well.” He sat up and put his hands on the couch, kicking his legs over the edge as he looked up at me. “You’re not bombardin' me with questions about what I am or where I come from. And even though you’re terrified of me, you’re being fairly hospitable.”

Was my terror really that obvious? Well, I was never invested in an acting career. I sighed. “Well, I figured who and what you are is your business. Even if we are living together now, as hard as that is to take in, I’m not gonna bother you about all that.”

“Because you’re afraid I’ll get mad if you do.” He frowned, his brow furrowed over his eyes.

“Yeah,” I admitted, “but also because I know not everyone wants to talk about themselves. They just want to keep their secrets to themselves, and I respect that.”

Bendy frowned deeper. It was a contemplative frown, and he looked at the coffee table for a minute.

I continued to eat my pancakes in silence…until the silence started to get to me. I grabbed the remote. “Mind if I…?”

“Go ahead.” He waved a hand dismissively.

I turned the TV on, and after a few seconds of loading up, the screen showed a female news anchor reporting, yet again, that the government was claiming no affiliation with the mysterious ink demon that had appeared out of nowhere in the streets of—

“Change the channel.”

I jumped. It wasn’t a suggestion, but a command, laced with a growl that reminded me of his larger form. I hastily complied. I found one that played old cartoons, a channel I’d never noticed before. Bendy leaned forward; his legs became still. It took me a second to register what was on the screen.

It was old, black-and-white, and no one spoke; the only sounds were effects and the background music. But the characters on screen were all lively and joyful, and the liveliest of all was a cartoon character that looked exactly like Bendy.

“Bendy? What is…?” I turned to him and trailed off. His expression was a mixture of sadness and longing, along with a hint of pride.

“I didn’t know they played reruns of our old show,” he whispered, apparently oblivious of my presence.

I watched him for a few minutes, watching the TV. Even more questions whirled in my mind. I had to ask him, a part of me insisted. I _had_ to.

But I couldn’t. I had told him I wouldn’t ask. _Why do I feel this way?_ There was guilt, predominantly. But I almost felt sad for him, although I couldn’t say why. Again, I could tell the expression in his eyes wasn’t artificial; again, I couldn’t tell how. I just knew. Some of my caution slipped away, and I suddenly found myself reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder.

I froze with my fingertips just inches away. What was I doing? Why was I letting my guard down so easily? Obviously, he was just trying to fool me. He was a

_(cartoon)_

demon. A demon, he was a demon. Demons did these things to you. People, too. They tricked you into thinking they cared, that they had a single emotional bone in your body. But it was always just an illusion, a big lie to take advantage of you. No one ever really cared, and neither should you.

A mantra I always repeated to myself; it always worked. It worked now. I withdrew my hand.

The movement seemed to stir Bendy from his stupor. He turned to me. Ink was beginning to dribble from his widow’s peak and down the center of his face. I eyed the stream warily. He must have noticed, because he wiped it away.

“Sorry.” He grinned, but it came out lopsided and false. “Got caught up in memory lane, there.”

“It’s okay,” was all I said. After a pause I added, “Do you want me to change the channel?”

I expected him to say “No,” but he nodded. I took the remote and flipped to a channel showing a Disney film.

I had never seen someone’s mood change so swiftly. His drooping figure suddenly tensed up, and he bared his teeth to reveal canines. His eyes narrowed at the screen, and his tail thrashed in the air.

“Don’t like Disney, huh?” I mused aloud.

“I despise them,” he growled.

“Okey dokey, then,” I said. I changed the channel without asking. The film changed to another about some plethora of wildlife. Bendy instantly relaxed, and his eyes widened as he hung on to the narrator’s every word. I sighed with relief and set the remote down to finish the rest of my pancakes.

I ended up finishing by the commercial break and stood up to gather up the dishes. “Can I have some more coffee?” Bendy asked me.

That sounded like a terrible idea. “Of course,” I told him. It took him just as little time to down the second cup of coffee as it had the first.

I frowned. I had expected him to be jumping off the walls by now. Maybe demons didn’t get sugar highs?

I put the dishes away, thinking about the cartoon with Bendy in it. There had been other characters as well: a wolf, a trio of troublemakers who I assumed were supposed to be some sort of gang, and what I thought was a fallen angel. It was quite the interesting cast. But what did that mean? That Bendy didn’t just _look_ like a toon, but he really _was_ one? But how was that even possible?

He wasn’t about to tell me, though, and again, I wasn’t about to ask. Why was I even still questioning these things if I wasn’t about to be provided any answers? Honestly, I thought, shutting the dishwasher door and standing up, I was killing myself with these questions—

“Gah!” Bendy was crouched on the countertop just inches from my face.

“Hiya, (Y/N!)”

“Bendy!” I gasped. “What the hell?”

He laughed. “You’re face! It’s so funny!”

I growled but bit back a retort. I calmed myself with a long inhale, followed by a sigh. “Ha, ha, you really got me there,” I told him. “Could you please never do that again?”

“Hmm.” He tapped his chin in mock thought. “Nah.”

He jumped backwards off the counter and landed on the seat of the couch, where he proceeded to do a headstand for no apparent reason. And by headstand, I mean he removed his head and balanced on it with one foot.

_Well. There goes that theory that he won’t get a sugar rush._

“Could you please calm down, Bendy?” I pleaded.

“Aw, and where’s the fun in that?” he pouted, somehow succeeding in doing that while maintaining his signature, irritating grin of assholery.

I swore, he acted just like a child. One mood one second, the complete opposite the next, and a third in the _next_ second. It was putting my head in a spin.

“Look, just—I have neighbors, all right? And if you make too much noise, they’re going to call for a noise complaint, and that will involve the cops. I assume you know what cops are?”

Bendy stepped off his head, picked it up, and plopped it into the air above his shoulders. He huffed. “Don’t insult my intelligence.” He tapped his foot for a couple of seconds, then his grin returned.

“All right, then. _If_ you catch me, I’ll calm down, okay?”

I groaned. “Bendy, that’s not—”

“Great! Bet you won’t, though!” Before I could react in any form, Bendy zoomed out of the room in a literally puff of smoke. I didn’t have time to be awestruck by the cartoon physics now permeating my living room. I dashed after him, yelling his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this chapter had more fluff and angst than I had meant it to have. But don't worry! Judging by the end of it, the next one will have a lot more antics between Bendy and the reader, as they become more comfortable around each other. ;)


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